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Dear Supporter:

We have
just received an urgent message from Hassan Juma'a Awad, President
of the Iraq Federation of Oil Unions. A translation follows
below. The action he reports represents a dangerous
escalation of the Oil Minister's hostility to the IFOU and its
leadership. Oil Minister Hussein Al-Shahirstani is the same
Maliki government official who some months ago directed the
management of the oil companies not to have any dealings with the
union.

USLAW calls on
all its affiliates, members and supporters to immediately send a
letter of protest to the Iraqi Embassy in Washington,
DC. Some suggested text and the address are provided
below.

==================================================Here is the
translation:

The Iraqi Oil Minister,
Hussein Al-Shahirstani, has ordered the transfer of eight Oil
Union activists. They used to work at the oil refineries in the
south. This act reflects the minister's anti-union policy, and
lack of respect for unions and union activists in the oil sector.
Those activists, through their hard work, are well known for
fighting corruption and corrupt-ministry gangs in the oil
sector.

They have been transferred to Baghdad Al-Dorah
neighborhood (known for worsening security situation, and high
level of sectarian killings). In the context of Iraqi security
situation, such a transfer is rightfully regarded as human rights
crime.

We call upon all people of good will in the world to
take a stand to denounce these despicable and criminal acts
by the Iraqi Oil Ministry against trade unions and their
activists. The trade unions have been reestablished and
revitalized through the hard work of union activists without
any protection from the state, which keeps bragging about
democracy. [The Maliki government, taking its lead from the
U.S. Occupation Authority, continues to enforce the 1987 Saddam
Hussein labor code that prohibits unions and bargaining for
workers in the oil sector and all other public enterprises, which
constitute 80% of all Iraqi jobs.]

This act is a clear
evidence that the Iraqi state seeks to liquidate trade unions in
this important Iraqi economic sector, oil. It is important to note
that the south is the main source of oil in Iraq. The oil sector
there employs more than 39,000 workers. The Iraqi state has no
intention of allowing an Oil Trade Union in that sector because it
represents a threat to its authority.

We call upon
you from all parts of the world to stand with us, for the sake of
labor and workers
interests.

Respectfully,

Hassan Juma'a Awad, PresidentIraq
Federation of Oil Unions

To assure
that your message is received, please send it to both fax
numbers and in or attached to an email
message.

We have been informed that Iraqi Oil Minister
Hussein Al-Shahirstani has ordered the transfer of eight leaders
and activists of the Iraq Federation of Oil Unions from their
long-standing assignments at the South Oil Company in Basra to
work in the Al-Dorah neighborhood of Baghdad, known for its
worsening security situation and high level of sectarian
killings. In doing so, the Minister knowingly exposes these
trade unionists to a heightened risk of injury or even
death. As such, this decision constitutes a grave violation
of these workers' human rights, as well as an assault on their
labor rights and the rights of all those workers who they
represent in their capacity as IFOU
leaders.

This action
escalates the Iraqi government's continuing, repeated and blatant
violations of internationally recognized labor rights as enshrined
in the Conventions of the International Labour Organization of the
United Nations, including those to which Iraq is a
signatory. Iraq continues to enforce the dictatorship era
labor codes that ban unions and collective bargaining for public
sector and public enterprise employees in clear violation of ILO
conventions. Iraq has failed to adopt a basic labor law (as
called for by its own Constitution) to protect the rights of all
workers to free association, to form unions of their own choosing,
to negotiate the terms and conditions of their labor, and to
strike when necessary in defense of their interests.

We
soundly and most strongly condemn these gross violations of labor
and human rights. No democracy can ever be established
in Iraq unless and until its workers enjoy the full range of core
labor rights recognized by the ILO. No democracy can ever be
sustained in Iraq without its workers and their unions being free
of government intervention in their internal affairs.

Iraq
must completely erase all vestiges of its authoritarian and
repressive past if it is to earn the respect of the world
community. We demand that your government immediately
rescind the transfer order for these workers, cease harassing
unions and union activists, and that it recognize and respect the
rights of all Iraqi workers to form unions of their own choosing,
to negotiate the terms and conditions of their employment, and to
act collectively in defense of their own interests.

We
intend to monitor this situation closely to learn what actions you
have taken to remedy these gross violations of labor and human
rights.

U.S. Labor Against the
War counts on people like you and its organizational
affiliates in the labor movement for the resources needed to
sustain this important work. Please make a financial donation in whatever
amount you can afford. (Consider
investing a portion of the tax rebate you receive from the IRS
in the struggle to end the immoral and illegal military
occupations with a donation to USLAW.) Thanks in advance for whatever support you can
provide.

Have you visited the USLAW
website recently? www.uslaboragainstwar.org Check it out for news,
information and resources for labor's antiwar movement. See the
latest news about Iraq's labor movement, the U.S. military
occupation and the movement that seeks to end it. Learn more about
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